Blind Strength
by Purple Eyed Cat
Summary: “Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.” Sokka comforts Toph after escaping the desert. Light Sokka x Toph.


**A/N: Welcome to this little one-shot called _Blind Strength. _Now, I am new to the Avatar world, so I apologize profusely if the characters are OOC, but I tried to stay as true as possible. I am already addicted to Avatar, and I couldn't help but write down this idea that has been bobbing around in my head for some time. This is a light Sokka x Toph, and takes place inbetween "The Desert" and "The Serpent's Pass." Please enjoy!**

**Summary: ****"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing." Sokka comforts Toph after escaping the desert. Hint of Sokka x Toph.**

**Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I just like to play with it sometimes. **

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Blind Strength

_The sand was everywhere. It flew into his face, blinding him, stinging his eyes and mixing into his hair. The wind that was kicked up blew against him, trying to force him to his knees, but he refused. Suddenly, the wind died, but the sand beneath him started to sink, caving in and pulling him with it. He twisted and turned, trying to run and seeking a way out as he was slowly immersed in the unforgiving sands of the desert. The grains closed around him, packing him in, and unforgiving daylight, the blistering heat of the desert, was swallowed up by the cool and smothering darkness as the last of the sand closed over his head…_

Sokka sat bolt upright in his bedroll, sweat pouring off him in streams as he panted, trying to catch his breath and rid himself of the feeling of being covered in sand. He stared blindly around at the cave that he and his friends were currently sheltering, trying to calm himself back into a blissful sleep. That dream had felt so _real_. But they were no longer in the desert; they were on their way to Ba Sing Se, and they were safe, for now.

Breathing in deeply, Sokka tried to reorder his mind, hoping to go back to sleep. Looking around the cave, he saw that two of the other occupants were sleeping. His younger sister, Katara was curled up beside Aang, her dark hair swaying softly as her breath rose and fell. She had refused to leave the young airbender's side since she had pulled him from the Avatar state the day before, and Sokka turned his head to view the young man beside his sister.

In sleep, Aang's face wore none of the anguish and grief that haunted his face usually, and he looked like what he was: a young man, sleeping beside his friend, peaceful for once. The young airbender was resting against Katara, taking comfort from the fact that she was near, but every so often, he twitched, as if--even his dreams—what he had lost still haunted him.

Sokka turned his gaze to the fourth occupant of the cave, and almost fell out of his bedroll. Toph's blanket was empty, and gazing around the cave, panicking, Sokka stumbled out of his bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his dream all but forgotten. Stumbling outside on sleep-weary legs, the young man gazed around in the darkness, searching for his blind companion.

"Toph?" He called softly, not wanting to wake the others, but only the waterfall's soft roar answered him, along with the night bird's call. Faintly, over the sound of the waterfall, he could hear something. It sounded like pebbles hitting the water. Intrigued, Sokka followed the sound to water's edge.

There, sitting on a boulder, her toes trailing in the water and calmly levitating small rocks into the water, was Toph. Her milky eyes stared out across the water, and the side of her face that was visible was set, hard and unmoving like the rocks she commanded.

"Toph?" Sokka asked again, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder, hoping he wouldn't scare her into defending herself. The last thing he needed after escaping the desert would be for Toph to squish him with a rock—it had almost happened before, and he didn't need a repeat performance.

Twitching away from his hand, Toph asked dully, "What do you want, Sokka?"

"What are you doing out here?" Sokka asked, before cringing slightly, waiting for the harsh retort, or a boulder lobbed in his direction.

But Toph's already notorious fury didn't come; instead, all he got was a quiet answer. "It was either you or Appa, I couldn't save both."

Sokka sank down beside the blind earthbender, sympathy squeezing his heart. So that was why she had been so testy in the desert—not that she wasn't already testy in the first place. It was true, he mused, she could only save one. She had taken Aang's tirade without showing emotion, but Sokka had sensed that it had cut her.

He had also seen how being surrounded by so much sand frightened and frustrated her. True, he had been addled by cactus juice at the time, but he had noticed that she seemed shorter tempered than usual, even snapping at Katara, whom she could usually tolerate. What had it been like, Sokka mused, gazing at her thoughtfully, to be trapped in the giant "bowl of sand pudding," her strength taken away, lost and even blinder than before?

"It was awful," Toph whispered softly, as if reading the young man's mind, and Sokka gazed at her with wide eyes, surprised that she was opening up to him. "It was like being blind all over again."

"Toph, I'm sorry," he whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder again. "You did everything you could for Appa—and us."

In an instant, she was on her feet, once again as closed and impassable as before. Even with her short stature, she towered over at him, staring down at him, her face set with anger, and a faint sadness.

"And it wasn't good enough!" She spat, and he flinched away from her gaze, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Nothing is ever good enough! I tried to save Appa, but the library was sinking! It was one or the other! I'm an earthbender, not a god!"

Sokka rose to his feet, suddenly unafraid of her rage. He knew it came from the uncertainty she felt in the desert, the pain of losing Appa, and the stinging realization that she had been the cause of it.

He stared down into her milky eyes, reading her face. "Toph, no one expects you to do the unexpected," he said softly, once again the logical Sokka. "What happened to Appa was not your fault, and Aang knows that. He's grateful to you for saving us, but he's hurt. He just lost one of his oldest friends."

Toph only grunted, scuffing at the boulder beneath her, dropping her blind gaze to the ground.

"Toph," Sokka pleaded, gripping her shoulders a bit tighter. "Please understand. We"—he gestured towards the cave even though she couldn't see—"need you with us. You are an earthbender, and you've already saved our lives once. We need you to stay with us." He was pleading with her now, asking her.

Toph was silent for a moment; her head turned towards the waterfall's thundering spray, letting the breeze play with the short strands of black hair that hung around her face. "But I sent Aang into the Avatar state." She whispered, seeming to see something past the rock wall at which she was staring.

Sokka shook his head, impulsively touching her cheek for an instant. At the gentle touch, Toph spun back to him, a glimmer of surprise passing over her face to be replaced a ghost of a smile. "Toph," Sokka whispered, watching her, "you helped Aang find out where Appa is. It's thanks to you that we know where to look. You cannot be blamed for that."

Toph shrugged, her face blank, apparently embarrassed by his praise. Yawning, she shook herself briskly, effectively knocking Sokka's hands from her shoulders. Stooping down, she picked up one last pebble, holding it loosely in her hand. Raising her hand, palm up, she used her power to push the pebble into water, listening to the satisfying splash it made.

The ripples were turned to silver bands by the moonlight, and Sokka watched in wonder as they collided with the stronger ripples of the waterfall, until Toph's second yawn dragged his attention back to her. He yawned himself, suddenly remembering that it was the middle of night, and he was tired.

"Well," Toph said, turning back towards the cave, padding confidently towards it on bare feet, "I'm going back to bed." She turned to gaze at Sokka, her milky eyes seeming to pierce right through him. "Are you coming?"

Sokka nodded, walking slowly to join her, gazing up at the stars as he did so. Appa was still missing, but those problems could always wait for the dawn. The stars glimmered down at the two young travelers, seeming to smile to themselves in the way that stars do as the two made their way back to the cave, where blissful sleep awaited them with open arms.

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**A/N: Well, that was my first attempt at Avatar fanfiction, and I hoped you all enjoyed it. I always wondered why in "The Serpent's Pass," Toph kissed Suki on the cheek, thinking it was Sokka. I thought that something might have passed between them, and this is what resulted. I hope you like it. Please review, and no flames!**


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